Mocha Mousse
My daughter, Shoshana, bought a container of chocolate covered coffee beans that she used to top her fabulous Mocha Cupcakes with Cappuccino Frosting. There was only one problem with this; the majority of the beans still were left over.
Years ago I did not like these little beans. I had trouble enjoying the crunch and taste of a coffee bean, even though it was covered in chocolate. Somewhere along the way, my taste buds changed and I now love them. This becomes a big problem around 2:00 a.m., when I have consumed chocolate covered coffee beans by the handfuls throughout the day and then can’t fall asleep.
I knew I needed to do something with them quickly. I was having friends over and decided to make Mocha Mousse. Rather than putting the mousse into a beautiful crystal bowl, I opted to use individual dessert bowls and top each one with a chocolate covered coffee bean.
I played around with two different ways to transfer the mousse to the dessert bowl. One was using a humungous ice cream scoop and simply dropping the mousse into the bowl. I must admit this was not the prettiest presentation but it will work in a pinch.
My favorite way was to put the mousse into a plastic freezer bag that I had already inserted a large round pastry tip into. Then, it was just a matter of piping the mousse into the bowls, a simple approach that leaves a beautiful design.
Some people enjoy whipped cream with their mousse. I am not one of them. I feel that, regardless of the kind of mousse one is eating, the mousse should be delicious enough to be eaten alone.
The batch I made was for a crowd, but the recipe is very easy to divide in half or more. It is also an option to serve Mocha Mousse from one bowl rather than separate dessert bowls.
Whichever way you choose, the one thing that you are sure to hear over and over again is, “MMMMMMMMM,” which is music to my ears.
| Mocha Mousse | Print |
- 18 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons (8 teaspoons total) powdered instant coffee
- ¼ cup water
- 3 cups heavy whipping cream
- chocolate covered coffee beans
- For the Mocha Mousse:
- Combine chocolate, coffee and water in a large microwaveable bowl. Microwave until melted, which will not take long, and stir to blend. Set aside to cool.
- Once the chocolate mixture is cool, beat whipped cream until soft peaks form. Fold whipped cream into chocolate mixture.
- Cut a small piece off a bottom corner (not the side that closes) of a gallon size freezer bag. Place a large star or round pastry tip into the opening. Transfer the mousse into the bag and seal it.
- Gently squeeze the mousse into 10-12 dessert glasses, starting in the center and working towards the outside. Top each mousse cup with a chocolate covered coffee bean.
- Betsy's tidbits:
- Total microwave time is usually less than one minute.
- Mocha Mousse may also be transferred into dessert glasses using a very large ice cream scoop. It will not be as pretty as the ones that are piped in.
- Another option is to pipe the Mocha Mousse into one large crystal bowl.
